Aquaculture is a continuously growing industry, but rising problems are disease and antibiotic resistance. A common disease-causing pathogen in oyster aquaculture is Vibrio coralliilyticus (Vcor). Vcor infection of oyster larvae causes near 100% mortality within 48 hours, which is devastating to oyster hatcheries. One potential method of controlling Vcor outbreaks...
Rockfishes (Sebastes) are important species for commercial and recreational fishing, as well as evolutionary and ecological research. It can be impractical to identify the sex of rockfishes using visual identification or lethal dissection, and the sex-determination systems of these species have not been studied extensively. The aim of this research...
Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) is an important commercial species along the west coast of North America, and its population dynamics are highly influenced by interactions between environmental variability and early life history distribution. However, the distribution of the early larvae stages of Dungeness crab offshore is poorly known. To fill...
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are used in ecosystem-based management (EBM) to increase the abundance and biomass of targeted species and protect their ecosystems by restricting certain human activities. Marine reserves (i.e. no-take MPAs) aim to achieve this by prohibiting harvest in the area. While MPAs are currently evaluated through assessments...
Carbon dioxide emissions greatly affect the carbon chemistry mechanisms within the ocean. Carbon absorbed by the ocean, drops the pH level and creates an environment that is acidic. Acidic conditions prevent calcification mechanisms in coralline algae, and hinder their ability to establish within the intertidal. Coralline algae display structural relevance...
This study evaluated the memory and visual discrimination capabilities of Enteroctopus dofleini, the Giant Pacific Octopus. Octopuses have been known to have advance sensory capabilities and through this study we challenged our specimen to remember and actively choose a specific patterned jar based on a visual pattern and positive reinforcement....
Metacarcinus magister, the Dungeness crab, is a commercially important species on the Pacific Northwest coast as the most profitable fishery in Oregon and an important ecological player as both predator and prey. Understanding the spatial distribution of Dungeness throughout different life history stages is beneficial both ecologically and economically. Zostera...
Metacarcinus magister, the Dungeness crab, is a commercially important species on the Pacific Northwest coast as the most profitable fishery in Oregon and an important ecological player as both predator and prey. Understanding the spatial distribution of Dungeness throughout different life history stages is beneficial both ecologically and economically. Zostera...
Saccharina sessilis, lettuce kelp, is a macroalgae that contributes to the primary production in the intertidal zone off of the Oregon Coast. Macroalgae can serve as a bioindicator of increased nutrient input, water quality, and shifts in the intertidal environment. Competition for light exists between macroalgae species and with other...
It has been observed and documented that Pisaster ochraceus has very striking colors, but the reasons behind the coloration are still unknown. Three coloration categories were determined and used for a feeding trial study to investigate the effects of diet on coloration in Pisaster ochraceus. This study involved 30 hand...